


The Captain Cat and The Little Crow

by jujubeans4270



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, animal shifting, courting, i dont know how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25658212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jujubeans4270/pseuds/jujubeans4270
Summary: Yachi had been a crow all her life, ready for the judgments of others. Kuroo was a cat, told to always move on to the next best mate.And sometimes Cats and Crows can get it right on the first try
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Yachi Hitoka
Comments: 3
Kudos: 82





	The Captain Cat and The Little Crow

Yachi had been a crow all her life. 

_Others will judge you._

It was a lesson all crow children learn. 

It was a lesson that she learned. 

_When you find your mate, it is forever._

That… was a lesson her mother had learned. When her father died her mother filled the void with work, which had ended up meaning that Yachi was all alone. 

And then she joined the volleyball team as a manager. 

And Yachi saw him for the first time. 

The cat with the cunning eyes and the mischievous smile and the long, lean body that slinked across the court until it was ready to pounce. 

Because Yachi joined the volleyball team, Yachi met Kuroo Tetsurou.

And she fell in love. 

* * *

_Never mate with a crow._

He had heard that from the first day he learned what a mate was. 

_Choose the best. If there's someone better, switch._

That's what his father said. He hated that expectation. His mother said that mates make you happy. He liked that one better. 

And then he met the crows in person. They were nothing like the lies that the teachers and parents had told him. 

The captain became an instant friend. And his vice-captain was the center of his universe. Sawamura would stop a runaway train with his bare hands if Sugawara wanted him to. 

_Crows mate for life. We just know who the one is. The majority of us will only ever mate with one person._

That's what they told him. That's what he saw. That was the truth. 

He told his parents. 

His father smacked him and told him that crows are deceitful. That eagles and owls are the only birds to trust. 

His mother pressed an ice pack to his face and said that the world should be more like crows. 

And then he saw her across a gym. 

Yachi Hitoka. A crow. 

And he fell in love. 

* * *

The only way that Yachi could describe it was that she felt her heart start beating. And then, like she always does when she gets nervous, she shifted. 

A poof of black feathers and suddenly strangers were cooing over her. 

The ace from Fukurodani in particular. 

He picked her up and she started to struggle. 

"Bokuto-san. Put her down." The setter asked.

Bokuto-san loosened his grip and she flew away. And the path she felt was right onto the shoulder of Kuroo Tetsurou. 

_He was blushing._

Everyone was staring. 

She fluffed her feathers as far as she could and shoved her beak into her chest. 

"Let's get you outside, huh?" Kuroo-san smiled at her and headed to the gym door. "Kenma likes to be away from people when he's nervous so let's do that, kay!"

_Kenma...san._

_Her mate likes someone else._

* * *

He was sitting under a tree, the tiny crow looking less stressed but still sad. 

Then it hit him.

_I mentioned Kenma in our first conversation…_

"You're the cutest crow I've ever seen. Can I pet your head?" 

_Bokuto likes when people do that, but he likes when Akaashi does it best. Maybe that's like our version of scenting._

The tiny bird bobbed her head. 

And the two sat under the tree, Kuroo petting her head with one finger, until her feathers de-fluffed and she was ready to go back inside. 

_Imma have to ask Bo how birds court._

And he stood, brushing the grass off his shorts, as he followed the crow flying back to the gym. 

* * *

"You wanna court the little crow manager!?" Bokuto exclaimed. 

"Louder, Bo. I don't think the people at the top of Tokyo Tower heard you." Kuroo rolled his eyes and added, "Please don't let any of the neighbors or my dad know."

Bokuto nodded and made a motion that his lips were locked. Despite how talkative the owl usually was, he was the best secret keeper around. 

"So how do birds court?"

Bokuto unlocked his lips. "Well… every species is different. Crow courtship, from what Akaashi was told by Sugawara, is super complex."

"What? Why?" Why did it have to be hard? Why couldn't it be like cats: I see you, I like you, here's a soft gift, be mine. 

"Cause crowds mate for _ever_. Owls it's super rare that you have more than one partner, but crows… it's drawn out cause, from what I understand, you see the person you want to be with and you just instantly would do anything for them. Its drawn out to make sure that the two involved are going to be happy together." Bo fluffed his hair.

"So… what do crows do?!" Kuroo asked again. 

"I don't remember the order… ya may wanna talk to Akaashi. But there's something to do with food. And then there's a nest, and shiny things, and soft things. Kenma might know too. He's friends with Shrimpy-chan." Bokuto stretched and flopped back so he was laying down.

_That's… not helpful._

"Thanks Bo." Kuroo sighed. 

He got a thumbs up in response. 

* * *

"Daichi-san?" Yachi walked up to the captain at the end of the day. He was the leader of her murder, more responsible for her thanher mom. He should give her permission. 

"Yachi!" he smiled as he came out of the classroom, Sugawara and Asahi behind him. 

"Can I talk to you privately?"

"Sure!" He waved at Asahi, kissed his mate on the cheek, and joined her at the other wall. They found an empty classroom and he leaned against a desk. "how can I help you?"

She fiddled with the strap on her bag. "Can crows in your murder court other species?"

She felt him go still from a few desks over. "What do you mean my murder?"

"Well… we're a murder, this team. And you're our leader, as the captain. So you're the one that I need to ask."

"Well… as the leader of your murder… I would say it depends on who it is. Whoever is joining us would have to be completely understanding that the crow would be taking a bigger risk."

She nodded and stared at him, determined to see it through. 

"How do you court a cat?"

* * *

"Hey Daichi!" Kuroo waved as Daichi walked into the coffee shop. "I'm glad you were able to make a break from your relatives to meet me."

"No problem. Mom was ecstatic that I had something to do today." Daichi sat down. The most basic coffee with some sugar cubes in a bowl on the table and a little thing of milk were already there. "How did you know what I like in my coffee?" His eyes narrowed. 

"I asked Kenma. Who asked Hinata. Who asked Sugawara. And then Sugawara told Hinata, who-"

"I get it!" Daichi smiled, laughing at him. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Kuroo went oddly quiet. He didn't want to mess this up. 

"You in trouble?" Daichi asked seriously. 

"No!" Kuroo shook his head and sighed. "Kenma was telling me about crow courtship and I was wondering if… crows mate for life right?"

"Yeah." Daichi smiled softly, rare for Kuroo to say the least, but Sugawara probably saw it all the time.

"So then do crows ever… court other shifters?" Kuroo started to ease into it. 

"Sometimes." Daichi sipped his coffee. "It's rare, mainly because crow courtship is so intricate."

"What happens?"

"Well, first there's the food. Sharing food is the most basic step. It shows that you like the other person enough to provide for them. Its first cause members of the same murder also share food. It's just the most basic sign that you care. At that point, you have to ask the head of the murder that they're in if it's okay. Changing murders can be hard if there's a territory dispute involved. Next it's the flowers. The flowers are to show that you think the other one is special. That more than just being a member of the same murder. It's the declaration that you've singled them out."

"And then you're mates if they accept?"

"If they accept your flowers, you move onto stage three. It's the best part." Daichi sighed. 

Kuroo just stared at him. 

"You nest together. At that point you can ask if the other considers you to be a good mate and then if they say yes, you present something sparkly to them. Once they accept the sparkly, then you're mates and it's forever." Daichi sipped again. "Which one of my murder is it?"

Kuroo stirred his latte. 

"I'll tell you now, Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, Kiyoko, Suga, Asahi, Noya, and myself are all spoken for." 

"And...Yachi Hitoka?"

"Has people offering her food left and right. But she turns them all down."

Kuroo swallowed. "Sawamura-san," he looked Daichi dead in the eye, "if Yachi Hitoka accepts my offering I'd like to begin courting her."

Daichi was silent. "And your parents? Your clowder? I know the world doesn't see crows as the most…"

"My mom won't care. And I don't care what my dad says. As for my clowder… I don't think they'll care. You and your murder are our friends… if anything, I think they'll think it's super cool. I can see Taketora turning it into an over glorified Romeo and Juliet."

"Yachi loves fugashi. She likes pastries in general. Her favorite flower is sunflowers. And if you fuck this up, I'll kill you!" Daichi smirked.

* * *

They were at a training camp when it happened.

"Do you want some of my fugashi?" Kuroo offers her.

_There's no way…_

_… but I do love fugashi_

"Sure."

It happens again. And again. And again. Until Tanaka notices and points it out. 

"Ya wanna be a crow, shitty boy?"

Kuroo just looks away. 

When she's about to get on the bus, he gives her a bouquet of sunflowers and baby's breath. 

She pretends her heart doesn't soar. 

* * *

He gets her number from Kenma. 

**You: This is Kuroo. From Nekoma?**

It takes 6 minutes for her to respond.

**Yachi Hitoka: Good evening Kuroo-san.**

He considers if it would be taboo to do things out of order. 

**You: I've talked to Daichi.**

She doesn't respond until an hour later. 

**Yachi Hitoka: What about?**

He steadies his fingers. 

**You: About the courtship of crows.**

**Yachi Hitoka: Oh?**

A deep breath and:

**You: Would you be offended if I did things out of order?**

**Yachi Hitoka: What are you suggesting, Kuroo-san?**

**You: Is there any chance you would be interested in a courtship?**

* * *

Her mother was traveling out of town for the entire month. So she invited Kur… _Tetsurou_ to her apartment during break. He was going off to University and she was becoming a second year, getting ready to move into the house that Daichi and Suga were setting up for their murder. 

He had come here and there, always with food and flowers. She had done her research and found out as much as she could about how cats courted. 

Nesting was similar to how cats would share soft things with their mates. They shared food together too. But everything seems so fast to cats. One moment you’re not mates, the next you are. And if he got tired of her, he could just move on.

But she was different. She wanted to go slow. To make sure it was all right. She wanted to be _loved_ by her mate. 

* * *

Daichi watched Kuroo pull a box out of his pocket.

Suga’s body twitched “You had better not be-” 

“I want your permission to give this to Hitoka.” Kuroo opened the box. Inside were two large barrettes. Both were silver, but one had a flower over one end with light pink stones, the other had small clear crystals in it. “So she can wear one on special occasions and one everyday.” 

“You do realize she's taking the bigger risk here?” Daichi scowled. 

“Sawamura,” Kuroo sighed, “I see in your eyes that you would stop at nothing for Sugawara. And that's me with Hitoka. She's my entire world. I saw her and everything around me didn't matter anymore. I saw her… and I finally understood what a family is. I don’t care if she spends the rest of her life as a tiny, fluffy, crow. I’ll spend the rest of my life as a cat and i’ll make sure she's safe.”

The heads of the murder looker at each other. And then back to him.

And they were smiling.

* * *

Today, Kuroo was going to ask her. Ask her to be his mate. To let him ask Daichi to live in the Murder Home when it was done. Today was the day that he, a cat, asked someone who was too good for him to be his mate. 

He knocked on the door and, when Yachi opened it, he saw their pile of blankets spilling out of her room. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him in, only pausing enough to let him take off his shoes. 

“Ya-chan?” Kuroo was stunned as he was pushed into her room. “What's wrong?”

She was crying.

“Toka.” he pulled her to him, laying them on the floor on a pile of pillows and wrapping the blankets around them. 

“When will you leave?” she whispered.

“I go back to school soon, but I need -”

“I don't want you to go!” she started sobbing.

“I'm not going anywhere.” He transformed into a cat and wrapped his body around her neck. He licked at her face, nuzzled into her neck. She held him close to her chest and just curled around him. 

When she had stopped crying, Kuroo shifted back. He held her this time, and made her feel safe. “Can I give you something?”

He felt a nod.

Leaning over the edge of the blankets, he got his backpack and pulled out the little box.

“Toka…” he handed it to her. “Will you do me the great honor of accepting a cat as your mate?”

Her eyes went wide and shaky hands took the box, opening it to find the gifts he was offering. 

“I may just be a cat. But I promise you, there will be no other in my life Hitoka. Just you. Only you. Forever.”

* * *

Yachi moved into the Murder Home the day it was ready. Proudly wearing the crystal studded barrette in her hair. Kuroo was right behind her, sporting a black eye from his father and his mother right between the two of them.

Kuroo would defend the house alongside Daichi. He would puff his fur, arch his back and swipe at the others who would try to take his home from him. And when the two of them would come back, Daichi with scratch marks and Kuroo with his back all torn from the talons, they would be patched up and soothed.

Yachi would stand next to Noya and Hinata as Kuroo’s mother returned to the house Kuroo grew up in to tell his father that she, too, had found a crow to stand with her. And then marched right back to Hidenori Uchizawa from the neighborhood association, pulling the children along behind her.

They both would watch as their friends came into their house, some staying until they were back on their feet, others moving into the safety of the house. 

And years later, when children would walk past and see crows, owls, cats, and canine playing in the yard, Kuroo and Yachi knew:

That this is where they were meant to be. 


End file.
